ISTANBUL - Turkish Airlines (THY) said that technical maintenance of the plane which was crashed in the Netherlands during a flight from Istanbul to Amsterdam, was carried out in line with procedures.
THY released a statement to deny allegations by some media organs about Wednesday's accident near Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
"The plane was built in 2002 and underwent thorough maintenance on December 22. Another maintenance was carried out on February 19. All technical maintenance was carried out in line with procedures. Since then, the plane had accumulated 52 hours of flight," it said.
"Some news reports referred to an event prior to a flight to Madrid, Spain, on February 23. After pilot of the plane informed about a failure of 'Master Caution Light', the flight was cancelled and the failure was removed the same day. After that event, the plane made eight taking off-landings without reporting any problem," it said.
THY said in the statement, "the THY never makes any concessions from flight security. All planes undergo technical maintenance in line with directives of the manufacturers as well as national and international authorities."
It also called on press organs to avoid comments that could lead to misunderstandings in the public opinion.
Meanwhile, seven passengers who were injured in yesterday's accident, were brought to Istanbul.
Nine people including three crew members lost their lives when a THY passenger plane bound from Istanbul to Amsterdam slammed into a muddy field while attempting to land at the Schiphol Airport. The Boeing 737-800 broke into three pieces on impact near the Schiphol Airport. The fuselage split in two, close to the cockpit, and the tail broke off.
(UK-AÖ)
(GEN)